At our 5-star preschool in Raleigh, we love using books and stories to help children learn, identify feelings, and get excited about upcoming events. Of course, with the arrival of spooky season, this means we’re breaking out the Halloween books to get everyone in the spirit! Whether your child is excited, unsure, or even a little worried, we’re sharing our favorite Halloween books for toddlers and preschoolers hat will help you and your kids get into the spirit without being scared!
Best Halloween Books for Toddlers
Toddlers may not understand much about Halloween or they’re just starting to get the idea. However, if you want to introduce Halloween or some seasonal stories, these are perfect for that age.
Room on the Broom
Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is a story that is a hit with both toddlers and caregivers with its humor, heart, and sweet illustrations. It’s written in a rhyming pattern which gives it a fun energy that children will enjoy.
The story features a kindly witch, her cantankerous cat, and the friends they meet on their journey who want to join them (much to the cat’s chagrin!). When they face danger, the team works together to succeed in this story about how there’s always room for new and old friends.
After reading this story, be sure to check out the Oscar-nominated short film on Netflix.
Little Blue Truck’s Halloween
Litle Blue Truck is a classic toddler story, and because it’s been so successful, there are numerous sequels and holiday stories, including the lift-the-flap Little Blue Truck’s Halloween. With its signature rhyming style and rustic illustrations, it will be just as beloved as the original.
This new adventure is short enough to keep toddlers’ attention, plus, they’ll have fun with the animal names and sounds. This story features Blue taking his animal friends to a costume party, and your child gets to guess which animals are “hiding” under their masks!
Inside a House That Is Haunted
Inside a House That Is Haunted by Alyssa Satin Capucilli, author of the Biscuit series, is a great story for getting your preschooler engaged. When a visitor arrives at a haunted house, the whole house, including a spider, a ghost, a cat, and a monster are thrown into chaos, allowing anyone who is reading aloud to get creative with lots of voices and sounds.
It’s written in a way that builds on itself as it repeats lines but adds more to the story with each repetition. Think of it like a spooky-themed, slapstick version of the story, The House That Jack Built.
Best Halloween Books for Preschoolers
For older children who know more about Halloween, trick-or-treating, and spooky season, these books will help face common worries and learn important lessons as well as offer fun and engagement.
Click, Clack, Boo
Written by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin, Click, Clack, Boo is a fun story about a grumpy farmer who wants to ignore Halloween and his feisty, trick-playing farm animals. Part of the Click, Clack series, kids and caregivers will enjoy reading this story about Halloween on the farm.
Go Away, Big Green Monster
For children who are a bit more worried than excited about Halloween, reach for Go Away, Big Green Monster, by Ed Emberley. Using die-cut, brightly colored pages, the pages form a scary monster, but that’s only part of the story! By telling the monster, “You don’t scare me!” as you turn the pages, the scary features go away, and the monster disappears.
This book is a great way to help young children understand that they are in control of their fears and that somethings aren’t as scary as they maybe thought they were at first.
The Hallo-Wiener
Written by Dav Pilkey, author of the best-selling Captain Underpants series, The Hallo-Wiener is a delightful tale about a lovable dachshund named Oscar who is tired of being teased by other dogs for having an unconventional shape. It doesn’t help when, on Halloween, his mom makes him a hot dog costume (complete with mustard!). However, one brave act on Halloween shows the other dogs that a small dog can be a big hero!
This book has a great message about how it’s okay to be different, plus, it’s also funny! The illustrations are great, and even older kids laugh out loud at the puns and silly antics.
Happy Halloween from Our Raleigh Preschool!
These are just a few of our favorite Halloween books for toddlers and preschoolers. At our Raleigh child care center, reading and telling stories play an important role in our play and discovery-based preschool curriculum.
If you’d like to enroll your child in our 5-star preschool in Raleigh, reach out to us! To schedule a tour with our Raleigh preschool, call us today at 919-790-6888 for our Spring Forest Road location and 919-785-0303 for our North Hills Drive Center.
